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Messages - EntropySpark

#1
I recently had a game in which I made an undo request. My opponent eventually asked what it was for, and I explained. This discussion went on long enough that apparently they were able to force my resignation. I had expected that this time would be my opponent's and not mine, similar to if I was waiting for them to react to one of my cards. As the game is in a state in which either of us could do something (I could cancel, my opponent could grant or decline), couldn't the timer be paused?
#2
I'm not looking for specific advice for how to play as Player 2, but those are further examples of how the first player has an advantage.

Suppose there are two Provinces left (each player has three), and both players are on what is likely their final shuffle, without any +Buys. (The same principles generally hold with them, but let's simplify this example.) If Player 1's next turn reaches 8, he can buy the Province, so that Player 2 is racing to buy the final Province before Player 1 does, and they'll each buy Duchies and Estates in the meantime. As long as Player 2's deck is roughly as good as Player 1's, they have a very good chance of tying, but are much more likely to lose than win.

However, suppose that Player 1's next turn reaches 5, and they buy a Duchy. If Player 2's next turn also reaches 5, that's fine, they match Duchy for Duchy. However, if their next turn reaches 8, they have a terrible dilemma. If they buy the Province, then Player 1 just has to buy the next Province before Player 2 does, otherwise trading Duchy for Duchy, or even falling behind to one Estate, for a victory. Not guaranteed, but also rather likely if their decks are similar, as Player 2 just drew a very good hand, and is unlikely to get that same buy power until the next shuffle. If Player 2 instead buys a Duchy specifically because of this dilemma, then they had to underplay their hand. If Player 1's next draw reaches 8, they can buy the next Province, and Player 2 still needs to catch up as in the previous scenario, but they already drew a hand that reached 8, and are less likely to be able to replicate it in a future hand.

Granted, this is a slight simplification, as players can also get unlucky with falling just short with 7 or over-extending to 10 and beyond, which will also make future attempts at 8 less likely, but the general principle holds that when the game comes down to the Provinces, Player 1 has a clear advantage and the tie-breaker, which is effectively half a point for Player 2 if there's a turn imbalance, is not sufficient.

I'm curious to know what the stats are from online 2-Player games for how often Player 1 wins, particularly if you only look at games that ended with cleared piles instead of an early resignation.
#3
General Discussion / Mitigating First Turn Advantage
03 January 2020, 08:25:10 AM
In multiple games today, I've gone second, then lost due to my opponent getting an extra turn. In one game, I lost by three points, and would have been able to buy a Duchy on my turn to tie, and in another game, I lost by one point, and would have been able to buy a Province to win.

Both of these would have been mitigated if Dominion had a rule similar to Splendor and Istanbul in which every player is guaranteed to have the same number of turns. However, this would also mean that only the last player can get a win by finding a way to clear a third pile, often at great expense, plus a few victory points to win the game. If the first player did the same thing, it would give subsequent players one turn in which they know to buy victory points, rendering the smite moot.

I realize that this is balanced in part by the first player being determined randomly, but it still feels bad to invest twenty minutes into a game only for it to have been determined by the initial coin flip, whether I win or lose. Is there a way to improve on this?
#4
Support / Game Froze
02 January 2020, 04:10:46 AM
I was playing a ranked game, and attempted to buy a Mint with a Haggler in play. I expected a prompt to decide between trashing for Mint and gaining from Haggler, but the game froze. When I refreshed the page, I got a "Waiting for EntropySpark" prompt, with no option to actually do anything. Refreshing more did not fix anything. Eventually, my opponent forced me to resign by inaction.
#5
EntropySpark vs Innokenty (Metavirt), 4-1

7332363 - Lost
7332669 - Won
7332956 - Won
7333328 - Won
7333780 - Won